Liu Xiaole left Zeng Fan's house feeling embarrassed. He ate a piece of fish jelly with his chopsticks, smacked his lips, and said, "Your cooking is pretty good, Yangzi. Why don't you come to my house and cook? I'll give you a chef's position."
Lu Wuyai took a sip of beer and laughed, "I'm also a chef at a five-star hotel in the capital."
"Then blow it up," Tang Congyang said with a smile.
Under the Observatory Tree, enjoying seafood and chatting while feeling the sea breeze, Lu Wuyai felt completely relaxed. He had grown accustomed to the fast-paced life in Kyoto. At this moment, as he relaxed, he felt as if he had ascended to paradise.
Since he returned these past few days, he has caught a lot of fish, and the indigenous residents are all interested in going to see them.
In the past, his parents were very skilled fishermen and could catch a considerable number of fish every time they went out to sea. The indigenous people all knew that he had this ability and felt that this ability had been passed on to Lu Wuyai.
So soon they were living a relaxed life when the island owner, Li Zhijie, came to visit.
Lu Wuyai was having breakfast: fish jelly, soy sauce soup with pickles, and a fried egg, along with a bowl of noodles.
As soon as Li Zhijie appeared, the little count (dog) barked fiercely, startling him so much that he backed away: "Hey, Yangwa, why has your dog become so fierce? What if it bites someone?"
"Little Earl (dog), come back." Lu Wuyai put down his chopsticks and shouted. Little Earl (dog) glanced at Li Zhiyi unwillingly, ran back dejectedly, and lay down at his feet.
Li Zhijie entered the room with his hands behind his back. Lu Wuyai handed him a bowl of noodles and said, "The island lord has a bite."
Most people would know this is just politeness and would refuse, but Li Zhijie was anything but polite: "Sir, let's have a bite. I heard you're a chef in Beijing. I'd like to try the dishes that people in Beijing eat. I want to be a person of integrity too."
Slurping the noodles again and again, Li Zhijie stated his purpose: "My boat is setting sail today, and you can come with me. You can bring your own net and pole, and do me a favor when the boat catches something, and it's yours."
Lu Wuyai laughed when he heard the awe-inspiring righteousness in what he said.
Although Li Zhijie is the island owner, he has no credibility whatsoever. He is cowardly and greedy, as can be seen from his breakfast.
He was stingy. Lu Wuyai went out to sea with him, and it seemed he was getting dirtier and dirtier, but in reality, he was at a disadvantage. His fishing net was useless, and a single person couldn't use it effectively. Besides, he could only bring one fishing rod, so how much could he possibly earn? (Reward)
Li Zhiyi insisted that whatever he caught would be his, but he would never let him have the chance to catch anything. In fact, he planned to make him do hard labor. Meanwhile, he also wanted to use his abilities to find fish.
Lu Wuyai smiled mischievously. Li Zhijie still thought he was very generous and said, "The fuel and water for the voyage are all mine. You can just go with the ship alone. I can't be too calculating, can I, a small local village?"
“Yes.” Lu Wuyai continued laughing, “I’m going.”
After receiving his promise, Li Zhijie immediately started eating and wiped his mouth. Before leaving, he found a plastic bag containing some fish jelly: "Your fish jelly is delicious. You truly deserve to have learned this craft in the capital. I'll take some back to feed you."
What could Lu Wuyai say? The little count (dog) was very dissatisfied and barked again when he saw Lu Wuyai taking the things away from the house.
Li Zhijie said angrily, "Your dog doesn't know it. If you want me to say, it would be much better to raise them until winter and then slaughter them for meat..."
“I won’t get on your ship,” Lu Wuyai said calmly.
Li Zhijie quickly said, "Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. I'm doing this for your own good, you young people, sigh."
He sighed, looking very frustrated.
Life at sea has never been a pleasant experience. Since ancient times, fishermen have lived a semi-submerged life, and an accident could cost them their lives.
Even without danger, making a living at sea is very hard. They often have to set out before dawn and return in the dead of night.
That evening, Li Zhijie came again and told Lu Wuyai the time to set sail. He was leaving at 2 a.m., as he needed to leave early.
This was nothing to Lu Wuyai. When he was a chef in Kyoto, he often got up at two or three in the morning to start a fire and prepare breakfast for the hotel guests.
But when he got home, he didn't want to suffer like that anymore, so he said to Li Zhijie, "It's too early, I can't get up. Let's leave at five o'clock. I want to go out to sea at five o'clock and follow the boat."
Li Zhijie immediately shook his head: "Five o'clock. It's daytime. As the old saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. We didn't go out to sea until five o'clock, so we could have a lot of fun."
Lu Wuyai said slowly, "These past few days, I've always gone out to sea at noon or even in the afternoon. Whether you have any success or not has little to do with when you go out to sea."
Li Zhijie had no choice but to compromise. He only wanted to bring Lu Wuyai on board because he knew that every voyage would yield some rewards.
After a good night's sleep, he got up at 4:30 a.m. to wash up and found the little count (dog) staring at the fishpond, licking his lips.
Seeing this, he hurried over to take a look and found that a few lobsters seemed to be missing. So he patted the little count (dog) on the head and said angrily, "You can't eat the stuff inside, do you hear me? If you eat it again, I'll beat you."
The little count (dog) wagged its tail, its face full of innocence.
Carrying a fishing net and a fishing rod, he boarded the fishing boat with the little count (dog).
Li Zhijie's family owns the best fishing boat in the village. It's an old, mechanical trawler with a very famous name: "Dragon Head."
The boat is 200 tons, can go into the deep sea, and has the best catch in the whole village. Many people in the village hope to go out to sea on his boat and make some money.
His ability to retain his position as island lord was largely due to this ship.
Lu Wuyai slowly boarded the boat. He gave Uncle Li Qianqi from the village a thumbs up and said, "You're really capable. I've been on the island lord's boat for several years, and this is the first time I've slept until dawn before boarding the boat."
The morning sun had already risen into the sky, its color not yet golden, but a magnificent orange-red. The same color of light fell upon the ocean's surface, reflecting a red hue, and the waves rolled like crimson silk.
Upon hearing Li Qianqi's words, Lu Wuyai smiled but did not reply. He pointed to the sea and said, "What a beautiful sea, what a beautiful morning."
The little count (dog) looked down from the ship's side, his mouth open and tongue lolling out, facing the sea breeze, his white hair swaying in the wind.
Li Zhijie poked his head out of the cockpit and saw that he had brought the dog. He became impatient: "Why did you bring the dog here? Damn it, don't let it fall into the water."
According to the fishermen's custom, it is considered unlucky to see dogs, snakes, rats swimming around the shore and near the boat when going out to sea to fish in the morning, or to see wild ducks and wild birds flying by.
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